SPARK 2026 – Call for Proposals: Strengthening Collaborative Research for Early Career Scientists Across the Pasteur Network

We’re delighted to share the new SPARK 2026 call for scientific incentive grants, exclusively for the Pasteur Network community!

🔍 Objectives

  • to foster a cohesive community of early‑career scientists within the Pasteur Network
  • to reinforce relationships and promote sustainable, equitable collaboration across the network
  • to support innovative, interdisciplinary research aligned with the Strategic Plan Pasteur 2030 and the scientific pillars of the Pasteur Network
  • to maximize research impact, training, knowledge exchange, and networking opportunities

💡 Project Focus

Projects should catalyze innovation by encouraging exploratory and interdisciplinary research.
They must clearly justify their alignment with Pasteur 2030 (SPARK‑IPP) and/or the Pasteur Network scientific pillars(SPARK‑PN).
Both fundamental and applied research are eligible within SPARK‑PN when addressing relevant public‑health challenges.

⚙️ Program Structure

SPARK 2026 is organized as a single call with two complementary tracks, both feeding into one unified SPARK community:

SPARK‑PN (Pasteur Network Track)

Open to early‑career scientists from all Pasteur Network members, supporting collaborations entirely within the network.

SPARK‑IPP (Institut Pasteur Paris – Pasteur Network Track)

Supports collaborations between Institut Pasteur (Paris) and institutes listed in Annex 1 (guidelines), with a strong focus on capacity strengthening, sustainability, and long‑term partnerships, particularly in low‑ and middle‑income settings.

📅 Key Details

  • Duration: 24 months
  • Budget: €75,000 – €100,000 per project (no overheads)
  • Eligible costs: travel, consumables, reagents, subcontracting (≤ €10,000), small equipment (≤ €3,000)
  • Submission deadline: 20 May 2026 at 13:00 (Paris time)
  • Start date: January 2027
  • Coordinators & team leaders: early‑career scientists from Pasteur Network institutes
  • Consortium: 2–3 teams from different Pasteur Network members
    • SPARK‑IPP requires: IP Paris + 1 institute from Annex 1

All awardees will engage in regular online WIP meetings and one annual SPARK meeting.

🌍 What We Aim to Strengthen in 2026

This new edition emphasizes:

  • innovative, disruptive, and interdisciplinary research
  • strong network‑based partnerships, especially in LMIC institutes
  • projects leveraging advanced technologies
  • sustainability, talent development, entrepreneurship, societal engagement
  • equity, diversity, and inclusion across the Pasteur Network

📘 More Information

All information about the above-mentioned call can be found on the SPARK Guidelines

2026 SPARK GuidelinesDownload

For more information, contact: spark@pasteur.fr